By Angela Atabo
A Civil Society Organisation, Yiaga Africa, has charged young people to leverage accurate data in developing effective campaigns that promote transformative leadership.
Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, said this on Tuesday in a statement, after organising a political lab for young candidates running for offices in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states.
Yiaga Africa is dedicated to promoting good governance, democracy and development.
Mbamalu said the political training was aimed at empowering women and young people running for offices in the 2023 general elections.
She said it was to equip them with practical knowledge and organising skills required for campaigns and building movements around issues of interest.
The director advised young people to use accurate data to run their election campaigns by identifying the number of local governments, polling units, registered voters in their constituency and every other information needed to win elections.
“While the northwest region provides for 28 per cent of youth candidates in the country, Sokoto has 137 young candidates running for state assemblies.
“We hope to have more young people winning elections”.
According to Mbamalu, Nigeria’s democracy needs to be inclusive of all people and if young people are the majority of Nigeria’s population, they should be in office.
She said the goal of political organising is to be more practical in discussing effective campaigns, identifying capacities needed to build communication strategies that would help them to communicate with their constituencies.
Mbamalu said the political organising lab also profiled the story of young people that won elections and looked at how to support young people to run and win elections because the 2023 elections ought to be for the youths.
“We want young people to be familiar with Election Day operations and procedures from opening of polls, closing and result transmission and strategic ways to work with your campaign teams and party agents”, she said.
Prof Suleiman Kuna, Professor of Political Science in the Usman Danfodio University, during the political lab, decried the challenges young people face in politics.
kuna urged them to unite to achieve their purpose because democracy and elections require huge financial investment, noting that this had impacted on youth participation.
“The youth must unite together and confront these challenges irrespective of political party affiliation”, Prof Kuna said.
According to him, youths require hard work, resilience and perseverance to confront the challenges.
Mr Nuradeen Mahe, Special Adviser to the Sokoto State Governor on Youth matters, said the political organising lab was timely to boost young peoples’ emergence into public offices.
Mahe expressed optimism that 2023 would be better in terms of youth inclusion in politics.
“Young people should be part of decision making in both legislative and executive positions.
“Come up with an enticing agenda that will help to solve challenges of young people in your constituency”, he said.
He advised young people not to relent in their effort and continue to campaign vigorously by calling their fellow youths to support them because they are the majority of the voters in Nigeria.
Mahe also urged them to remain honest and stay true to their promises before and after winning elections, to prove to Nigerians that politicians could be trusted.(NAN)
